I didn’t write the whole conversation out that I had with her but it did lead me to believe she was legitimate.

They do some lead generation to help new agents, which the boutique firm does not.

Yes, Podio is a great CRM, and great with "Deal Flow", but to be honest, its not great at Prospecting or Lead Generation. 

In particular, I am looking for recommendations for local banks that provide construction loans and references for GC's.Any other reference or leads are appreciated!  

I would say, get with an agent or consultant to help you and determine a game plan of what you are looking for, what pricing you want, and your strategy (flipping, long term hold, house hack, etc...)From there you now know what you will need to finance the properties, which means either finding a lending platform that compliments  your needs so you don't have to empty your pockets on one deal.Hope this gives a little insight on what my first step would be.

It is easier to show it to everyone and encourage everyone to apply to not be accused of leading or discriminating.You can also set up appointments open house style where you are there only a certain time and they overlap, because you will run into no-shows.We show all interested folks the place and offer an application. 

if you have NEVER done a build job or spec i think that financing will be your biggest hurdle.also your cash position is quite weak.. sometimes vertical lender will over look experience if you pay cash for the dirt.but leverage and no experience leads to no deal.. this would be a decent deal for a local builder given carrying cost sales costs etc etc.. how much they would cut you in for finding it and providing a little bit of cash is up to negotiation of course.

Different deals = different platforms. 

The weather of Chicago and how various neighborhoods and suburbs react to the signs will test your patience and grit, but, if you can last, you'll have some leads.

I understand wanting to have multiple sources of potential leads.